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SATA getting long in the tooth, what's next?

G

GWestphal

Golden Member
While for the past 10 years SATA has been a big improvement over IDE, I feel it's time to start looking at smaller more pliable cabling/connectors. Maybe getting down to the size of roughly an individual head phone wire with a micro-usb sized connector. SATA cables don't actually pass much current, right? So, the gauge of the wiring is pretty trivial, you just need to pass the digital signal to the HD controller. MicroSATA perhaps?
 
Slimline_SATA_cable.JPG


Power + data.
Slimline SATA already exists, it's just mainly used in laptops and small devices like HTPCs, and is small considering it's data+power.
The SATA power connectors are the unwieldy bit size wise.
 
Maybe smaller drives or fasing out of DVD drives to a smaller size storage media. I should mention I have ruined a few DVD's. Handle them wrong or one smudge and they are junk. SSD'S have caught on and they must be putting them in the tablets otherwise they would be too heavy. I could see the USB getting faster and just plugging in some kind of mini hard drive/SSD Hybrid drives. I could also see motherboards changing size or configuration. A lot of computers are constructed with just the integrated video on the motherboards so there is really no need for a lot of the I/O slots like PCI/PCIE. I could see some motherboards that are a lot smaller. I can also see more online storage and network delivered products. Why buy a DVD, if you can just stream the movie? I can also see some slots on the motherboard disappearing and using mini-pci for those SSD's and Wireless on mini cards. Computers are the largest bulkiest pieces of junk we still create. They are filling up landfills. It is time to make them smaller and better. We have smart phones, so why not smart computers.
 
Thenderbolt Hard Drives. Gigabyte hooked up 4 video devices to one thunderbolt.

So I could see better cables from modular power supplies. Or a power circuit on the motherboard. Too many bulky wires.
 
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I think that the thickness of the SATA cable has to do with impedance matching and shielding/twisting more than current capacity. It is hard to get data to not get garbled at those frequencies so cable design matters. I don't see a need for anything smaller than SATA in desktops myself. I plug/unplug probably one SATA cable a month, and only do that because I am an enthusiast.
 
We had Parallel ATA, and now Serial ATA. And, both are IDE! (That just means that the drive electronics are integrated with the drive.) I suppose we could envision Advanced Serial ATA or ASATA. Maybe Enhanced ATA (EATA) or even Wireless ATA (WATA.) 🙂
 
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